SAYONARA!!!

Well, I can hardly believe it, but the time has come to say goodbye!  Almost.

In two short weeks Tiny & Mary take Tokyo!!!  You might have noticed a giant, man/boy-sized gap in the blogosphere in the last couple of weeks.  I have been prepping, planning, and stressing out about our upcoming trip to Japan...and we still have so much to do.

(Source)

At this point (after playing host to nearly forty Japanese students), our family home is basically known as one of Southern California's "Little Tokyos."  Nevertheless, it doesn't seem quite real that we should be winging our way all the way to the island nation of Japan.  Our trip might not seem real, but the fact that one of those forty students, Nami, is getting married is very real!!!  Nami lived with us for three years and truly became part of our family (she was the student with whom I took tap dancing classes).  While she was here, she earned her Associates Degree, bought a car, learned how to surf, and fell in love with Thanksgiving dinner.  We shared so many experiences with her and we're thrilled to be able to share in her wedding day!

I tell you all of this only to explain that as absent as my blogging has been in the past two weeks, it is only going to get "absenter."  I am going to try and immerse myself fully in the Japanese culture (except for the food, and nude hot springs - nobody wants to see that).   To achieve that goal we will be leaving gadgets behind (with the exception of our cameras).  Truly, I just don't want to be bogged down by electronics during my first trip to the Far East.  After all, if I can't enjoy Japan without checking Facebook and playing Words with Friends, then I'm just kind of a creep, aren't I?  If I am, don't tell me...and just blame it on my parents.  Instead of blogging I plan to be seeing a lot of....

This...
(Source)

And hopefully this...

"My Girl from the South Sea Isles" - Sweet Hollywaiians

And this...
(Source)

And this...
(Source)

And this...
(Source)

Not so sure about this...
(Source)

Absolutely NOT this...
(Source)

Or this...
(Source)

But definitely this...
(Source)

And for sure this...
(Source)

And these...
(Source)

And even this...
(Source)

And don't forget this!!!
(Source)

As always, my expectations may be more than mildly informed by stereotypes and an overactive imagination, but just let me live in my wacky tacky dreamworld, won't you?  Given its history, its adherence to tradition, and its unabashed embrace of the future and all things weird (see: vending machines that sell everything), I know that Japan will not disappoint.  If you have any travel advice or must-see places while we're in Nippon (our major stops will be Fukuoka, Kyoto, Nagoya, and Tokyo), please feel free to let me know.  I wish that we could stay longer and see EVERYTHING, but time and finance (Japan's expensive y'all) will not allow. 

The craziest part of this whole trip is that coincidentally, we will have friends and an aunt and uncle (all from Southern California) in Japan at the same time!  It will be old home week in Tokyo!!!  We are so grateful to be going and so happy for our Japanese sister, Nami.  We will be singing at her wedding and, hopefully, will be playing a few shows along our route...maybe a little "Sukiyaki" is in order, hmmmm?

"Sukiyaki" - Kyu Sakamoto

I look forward to reconnecting with you and sharing our adventures upon our return, at which time we will have many pictures and stories to share, I am sure.  Until our departure I will continue to blog, but when it comes time to get our passport stamped, we hope that you'll wish us the Japanese equivalent of "Bon voyage!"  I think it's "BANZAI!, BANZAI! BANZAI!!!!"

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny